recovery

Hysterectomy: 14 Days Post-op/2 Weeks Post-Op

Angel BoucherLeave a comment

I made it! 2 weeks post-op/14 days post-op!! God time flies! It feels like it was just days ago!

I literally feel like I could run a marathon! Don’t worry, I’m not. I’m still sitting on the couch or laying in bed most days.

Today was, by far, the best I’ve felt. It’s the most normal I’ve felt. For some reason, I’m so disgustingly happy. 😆 I feel so energized. I feel great, actually! I told a co-worker this is the most like “me” I’ve felt in 10+ years. I felt giddy, hyper, happy, and just optimistic. I haven’t felt that in ages!

But…

Two nights ago, I almost went to the ER. I was hit with incredible pain at 1:00 in the morning. I was in bed, fetal position, sweating, couldn’t straighten my legs, nauseous, bleeding, etc. I still don’t know what caused it. The following day I could barely walk. I had to use the walls and dressers to keep me up and support me. He did say some days would be bad, and it may be even months out when I get random pains until everything settles and heals. I just figured it was one of those moments. I didn’t get any clots and no bright red bleeding, so I just went with it and kept on pushing on.

Now for the sappy, vulnerable part.

It’s amazing how your body can change so fast and random. From a painful day to feeling brand new – quite literally. I’m so impressed by little things. My incisions externally are already scarring over. I never heal that easily and fast. I have a bug bite I got weeks before surgery still busting open and unhealed. Literally, it takes months for wounds to heal on my sometimes. For me to scar over in a matter of two weeks for my incisions is so impressive.

I am so proud of my body for what it’s been doing. I wish I could tell it how proud I’ve been of it. As cheesy as it sounds, from walking to using the bathroom to healing outer wounds… I’m beyond impressed at what it’s overcome and done to heal itself in two weeks. Certain things are still hard (lifting I’m not even attempting, sneezing is weird still, coughing is suspicious), but overall I’m so proud of my body.

I’ve learned a lot about myself in two weeks like taking for granted simple tasks like doing dishes, forcing myself to ask for help, or not realizing just how hard mentally it is for me NOT to be strong and independent. I realized I no longer know my “style” or what I “liked” to do. I bought new dresses but hated how they looked on me. But then I looked and thought, “This is definitely not my style, but what is?” I still don’t know, but I’ll figure it out one day. I realized I was watching shows more so for background noise than interest. When I started actually watching them, I was thinking, “This is terrible!” It’s amazing how one surgery can put so much into perspective.

That’s okay… in two weeks I’ll go back to my bad habits of not thinking about those things and overworking myself. 😆 When I’m working, I give 110% of myself to the job, and I literally have no time to discover things about myself or think/reflect outside my job. Yes, I know that’s unhealthy, but that’s just who I am. It’s hard to turn off your mind when you’re a teacher and responsible for so many kids and their future.

I don’t see much changing until my follow-up appointment in two weeks, so I’ll probably do my next update then. I did get the pathology report, but it’s all medical terms. As soon as I can sit down with the doctor face-to-face to discuss it, I’ll go over that more. Until then, we’ll keep it in the file!

Hysterectomy: Day 4 – Week 1 Post-Op

Angel BoucherLeave a comment

I made it one week! 5 more weeks to go, unless I’m cleared sooner! Time is flying, but also moving astonishingly slow!

Day By Day Breakdown

Day 4 was exceptional! If I didn’t know better, I would’ve thought I was normal! I did some small things around the house and took a modest walk to help with the movement of the leftover gas inside. I could still feel it around my chest and rib cage. Other than that, day 4 was amazing! It was the first hopeful day I had!

Day 5 was arduous. I had such incredible pain and muscle spasms. I couldn’t tell what was normal, what was hurting, where it hurt, etc. It just hurt all over. However, my brother did come by to help with laundry, dishes, taking the trash out, etc. While he was here, I got to play with my niece. She’s almost 7 months old, and seeing her giggle made me smile. I needed it! I did end up emailing the doctor today to check if some things were normal. Apparently, they are. I cried several times today. I didn’t want to move at all. My body felt like a million knives were being stabbed into any given area at any given time. I ended up calling the doctor today because of how bad things were. I also ran out of pain medicine today, which didn’t help!

Day 6 was better. It was like a marriage of days 4 and 5. I was able to do a little bit around the house (dishes, pick up trash around the house, bring things to the outdoor trash can, etc.). I was proud to have only taken two lesser pain pills during the day – my doctor prescribed me a different kind. I’m trying not to take them for several reasons; however, if I need them, I will. I have no addiction in my background, but I don’t want to risk it. I know I also need to build up my pain tolerance, rebuild my muscles, and do more (not too much) without the medicine. I need some normality back in my life. Later in the day, my mom brought me out to dinner tonight. She drove, as I’m not cleared yet and don’t want to risk it. We had a good laugh at dinner that hurt my surgery site, but it was worth it!

Day 7, one week post-op, was a slightly smaller version of day 5. I slept an absurd amount. I kept having spasms, and everything just felt heavy. I tried to do some things around the house, but everything was so exhausting. I received a call that my new meds were ready, so I had my brother drive me to get them. I forgot my seat belt protector and the seat belt felt awful on my site. The spasms radiated through my back and legs. I would stop breathing at times to catch myself from cussing. As it lightened up, I would try to do focused breathing techniques. This was also the first day I didn’t have a single bowel movement. I hope tomorrow there is one, as I don’t want anything damaged from the swelling due to the lack of one. I hate talking about things that should be so private, but it’s a reality of the surgery.

Overall Assessment

Well, part of me was expecting a much harder recovery. I envisioned being in bed, crying nonstop, beginning for it to go away. Although I’ve had a few rough days, it’s gone fairly well. I find myself, at moments, being incredibly proud of my body. I’m impressed that I can go through such trauma and be doing as much as I am.

On the other hand, I’m incredibly frustrated. Doing this alone isn’t easy, especially mentally. When you’ve lived so long being independent, you feel hopeless when you can’t even do the dishes. Little tasks take so much effort and energy that you begin to fall into a dark spot mentally.

I’ve cried more in the last week than I did in the last year combined. On day 5, I cried five times within two hours. My emotions are all over the place. Very rarely have my tears been from pain. Most of my tears have been from the frustration of not being able to do things or see people. I hardly saw the outside in the seven days. It’s very isolating! I had a million people check on me, which made me feel good, but it wasn’t the same as seeing people, being able to walk to get your mail, handling laundry, etc. It’s sad when you get “proud” because you could stand the entire shower and not use a shower stool.

One thing for sure is this is a very humbling experience. It let me know how much I’ve taken for granted. It also lets me know I don’t give myself enough credit for what I do every day. I should be extremely grateful to be able to do some of my daily tasks. There are people in this world that can NEVER take the trash out, can NEVER do laundry, etc. It may not be fun to do, but I’m glad I can do it.

I’ll probably post weekly updates until I’m cleared, then go every few months. I’ve heard others have post-op concerns up to a year later.

The good feeling I have, though, is that not a single person I’ve talked to has regretted this decision, especially those with endometriosis and adenomyosis. As of now, I’m not regretting it. I’m looking forward to a life that I can live and function with minimal problems.

Hysterectomy: Day 1 Post-Op

Angel BoucherLeave a comment

Sleeping in a hospital is awful. You constantly get woken up. You hear a ton of noises that wake you. You’re uncomfortable both from surgery and the general environment. I spent much of my night taking 1.5 power naps with about 40 minutes of wake time between them.

At 2:45 a.m., they came to draw blood. I was luckily awake during that time, so my sleep wasn’t interrupted. I dozed in and out again until about 6:30 am.

Nutrition brought me breakfast (French toast, scrambled eggs, raisin bran, milk, coffee, and orange juice). I agree with just about everything except the coffee and some of the eggs. Hospital food is extremely bland, so it’s almost miserable to eat it. Believe it or not, it’s worse than school lunches! But hey… food is food. There are so many people without food. I’m just grateful I can eat, and I can eat solid food.

I was having bad pains this morning. Two types of pain: pressure (from the gas) and my insides (surgery). I knew I had to pass gas and/or have a bowel movement. Again, I normally wouldn’t talk about this, but it’s important to hear from those who go through it.

I tried to pass gas, and it took so long to get one out. I didn’t want to push too hard for fear of hurting something. After about 20 minutes of on-and-off slight pushing, I finally passed a little gas. It didn’t relieve the pressure, but I knew I was on the right track.

The doctor and nurse came in to check on me and give me more meds. The doctor ran me through some external photos of the uterus, ovaries, and tubes. He said pathology is “fileting” the inside to inspect and take pics. They said I was a perfect surgeon. Absolutely no complications and it was one of the easiest he’s done. He and the nurse said I was doing incredibly well. They said my pain tolerance has been great, and my ability to move has been astounding. I told them I definitely don’t feel like I’m doing well, but they assured me I’m doing really great. The doctor stated I’d be discharged.

The nurse followed up with my meds but was concerned about me going home. Due to my condition, lack of bowel movement, and no PT (physical therapy), she wanted to fight for me to stay another night. I told her I’m good either way. I appreciated her speaking up for me, but I could go either way. She told me she’d get back to me when she brought me my next set of pain meds.

I, again, lay in bed scrolling on my phone, typing this up, when I started to get red, hot, and itchy. I wasn’t sure if I was having an allergic reaction or if it was just my body reacting to the pain and pressure. I called the nurse just to let her look, as I figured they would have a better idea. The itchiness spread to my chest and arms but stopped there. It made me a bit more nervous about going home, alone.

As I waited for answers and Benadryl, the pressure of the gas was hurting so bad. I finally tried to bring my knees to my chest (I didn’t make it… but I did make them come up a bit). Within seconds, I passed gas. This one was huge. Again, I hate talking about this, but it’s important to know for those going through it. I was quite embarrassed, but I knew this needed to happen and knew more would happen. It felt like an overfilled balloon finally popped. Though I still had immense pressure, I was finally in a semi-comfortable spot. Within another two minutes, I passed gas again. This cycle continued about four times. Despite my embarrassment, I was so relieved. I could feel the pressure getting lighter. In my mind, I just kept hoping I got a bowel movement, too, but I’ll take the gas for now.

After the final passing of gas, I relaxed a bit. I watched some videos that made me laugh, which hurt so much. I tried to stop myself from laughing, but it was hard. I knew I needed the humor, too.

The nurse later came back and said what was happening was not a medicinal reaction. If it were, I would’ve shown signs with the previous dosing. That made me feel better.

Lunch was brought to me, and that was probably the most flavorful meal I’ve had since being here. I actually ate 90% of it. However, as I was eating, I started sweating uncontrollably. I was wondering if it was a hot flash, but then I felt my stomach rumble. I got excited and nervous. I ran to the bathroom. At first, I just had a lot of small gas. I was getting my hopes up. I knew I didn’t want to push, based on our earlier conversation. I “pushed” normally and only got gas. So I washed my hands and left. Immediately exiting the door, I felt a rumble and pressure on my rectum. I knew 100% that I was about to have a bowel movement. I walked back as fast as I could. I sat down. Again, nothing was happening. At this point, I was getting frustrated. I was sweating because of the bowel movement that wasn’t coming. I knew I couldn’t push either, but I was so desperate to get out. I sat there for what felt like an eternity, and I felt it move. With the slightest push, it finally came. It wasn’t easy, but it happened. I may have pushed a little too hard, as I saw some blood from my surgical site. I informed the nurse, and she told me that was normal. As long as I’m not straining, it’s okay to push a little.

After leaving the bathroom, round 2 hit. I couldn’t believe it. Literally, within 30 seconds, I needed to go again. Part of me was incredibly excited knowing I needed this. The other part of me was nervous about all the pressure I’d be putting on my surgical site. I let the nurse know again, and she said it’ll feel uncomfortable, and I’ll likely have bleeding or spotting for a few weeks. As long as it’s moving, that’s what’s important.

I only had about an hour left before I would be discharged. Again, part of me was excited to finally be on my way, to sleep in my own bed, to actually sleep, and to be by my babies. The other part of me was nervous about how I was going to manage on my own, especially showering. I won’t attempt that until later, though. I’m worried about how much pressure is too much pressure when pushing. I’m terrified of messing something up. She assured me she would go over all that before I leave.

At about 1:00 p.m., I was discharged. I was transported via wheelchair to the car lane. We immediately got my medications filled and went home. I felt some leakage from the surgery, so I was glad to be home to clean up. They said it’ll be normal to spot over the next couple of weeks.

Once home, I sat in the recliner to just sit. It felt good and crowded at the same time. I finally got up to take some of my meds and prep for a nap. I felt myself dozing off as I was trying to watch a show. I knew it was time. Sure enough, I slept a good 2 hours straight. Something I didn’t do at the hospital.

Waking up was a bit hard. Getting out of bed with no rails or support to pull up. It’ll be an adjustment, for sure. Once I was up, I took some more meds and placed an ice pack on me. I was so glad to have an ice pack that actually stays frozen. The ones at the hospital lasted maybe 10 minutes.

As the night winds down, my gas is building back up. I made a trip to our community mailbox and back (maybe 500 feet walk). It was incredibly difficult, but I knew walking would help rebuild some muscle and help move those gasses around.

I wrapped the night up with my pain medicine and anti-inflammatory. I have my alarms set throughout the day and night to keep me on track for medications. I’m not looking forward to waking up all the time, but if it means being in less pain, I’ll do what I have to do.